Thanks Terp! I have never heard of the genera Mokara. After googleing the genera Mokara, I Found this website: http://www.colorful-orchids.com/html/h-mokara.html I believe that this variety is Mkra.Khaw Paik Suan x V.UdomChai (towards the bottom right of the page). Anyone know what the Cymbidium might be? Any idea if it is warm tolerant? -Ray-

Thanks, Hilda. I just printed out my ticket for this year (free for members) - I don't know yet when I'll be going. Claire

Relax. Easy for me to say, I know -- if my child were a college junior and announced his/her engagement, I would freak out. But if they aren't planning to get married yet, not even an idea of what year (or an idea more than a year or so ahead), I think that what you have here is basically a serious boyfriend and a piece of jewelry. DON'T say this to HER, or anyone else, and don't let it show. That will just insult her maturity and the seriousness of her relationship and make her dig her heels in hard. It's just for YOU to keep in mind. So much can happen before they are ready to get married. I definitely wouldn't throw an engagement party. Maybe a small family celebration -- like lindac's running out for champagne, but not a full-blown party. Actually, I don't think I'd throw one for my own child; around here, that's something friends or other relatives usually do, I think. We just co-hosted one for a friend's daughter. We didn't call it an "engagement party," just a "party in honor of Petunia and Cuthbert," but it was the same idea. Anyway, I don't think anyone ought to be giving an engagement party at this point. I'd wait until the wedding date is set, and no more than a year before, and even as late as a month or so before the wedding. I suppose that engagement parties were once to announce the engagement of a child to one's social circle. But at least in my community, they now seem to be sort of the first of the pre-wedding parties. If your daughter is making you think that you MUST run around and host parties in her honor and put announcements in the newspaper, she is just playing bride. Don't do it. (Even if the circumstances were different -- i.e., she were older and they did have an approximate wedding date chosen), it certainly isn't something you HAVE to do. I don't remember the last time -- if ever -- anyone I knew gave their own child an engagement party, so it certainly isn't "required" or something "everyone else has." Tell her how much you love Cuthbert and perhaps meet his parents if it is convenient and you are ready. If she asks about a party, tell her it's too far before the wedding. Don't let his family push you, either; just tell them pleasantly how much you like Cuthbert and don't get sucked into planning yet (it can be tempting). Good luck!

Maybe get a few friends together (or else just them and you) and either cook or take them out to dinner to celebrate, and toast their engagement then. It's still so new, maybe a little bride-and-groom fuss over them will mean more than a gift right now. If you prefer a gift -- well, he is your good friend; we don't even know him -- so you are in a better position than we are to know what they might like as a gift. The only suggestion I can think of is a scrapbook or album to collect souvenirs of their wedding planning. I was really glad I kept one; I think I like it even better than the wedding albums, because it reminds me of all the very little things that were so much fun that I probably would have forgotten over the years (e.g. -- correspondence with my mom about decisions, a photo of us getting our marriage license (next to a "NO REFUNDS" sign), a napkin from a celebratory lunch out with a friend, snapshots of gown and tuxedo fittings).